Pharmaceuticals, Paul Stoffels new CEO of Galapagos

Paul Stoffels is the new Chief Executive Officer (CEO) of Galapagos Nv starting from April 1, 2022. The appointment of Stoffels was announced by the same company, specializing in the development and marketing of small molecules with new modes of action. He succeeds the current CEO and co-founder Onno van de Stolpe who had already announced his retirement. Paul Stoffels has significant experience in the field of research and development of innovative molecules and in the biotech and pharmaceutical sectors, where he has held various roles in different therapeutic areas, Galapagos reports in a note.

“We are very happy to announce that Paul Stoffels will be our new CEO. Given his excellent experience in research and development as well as management, his vast network of relationships in the pharmaceutical world, together with his deep understanding of the points of strength and potential of Galapagos, we are convinced that Paul has the right qualifications to lead the company, ”he said Raj Parekh, chairman of Galapagos. “We want to express our gratitude and deep appreciation to Onno, who founded the company in 1999 and worked tirelessly on its development, making it a European biotech with a differentiated pipeline and a first product on the market”.

“My 23 years at the helm of this company has been an incredible journey and I couldn’t be more honored to hand over the helm to Paul. As the founder and board member of the company early in his life, Paul has a deep understanding of our roots and who we are today, “he added. Onno van de Stolpe. “I firmly believe that Paul’s strategic and inspirational leadership, coupled with his great knowledge of both the pharmaceutical sector and Galapagos, will make him the next best CEO, capable of creating extraordinary value for all stakeholders, including investors, shareholders and patients” .

“I was personally involved by Crucell and Tibotec in the foundation of Galapagos in 1999 – commented Paul Stoffels – and I followed the company all the way that led it to be a full-fledged biopharmaceutical, as it is today. . I am attracted by its entrepreneurial culture and constant commitment to innovation, its strong research and development capabilities and growing commercial footprint. I am convinced that the solid financial resources and long-term collaboration with Gilead, give Galapagos a potential and I am thrilled and honored to have been appointed CEO. I want to express my respect and appreciation to Onno, who successfully built the company, and led a start-up to become an independent, publicly traded company. I will remain true to the company’s mission to develop drugs with new mechanisms of action for patients in need of new treatment options“.

Stoffels was previously Vice President of the Executive Committee and Chief Scientific Officer of J&J, where he led the innovative transformation of the entire company starting from the research programs and the development of the product pipeline, discovering and developing high-impact solutions, including the single-dose Covid-19 vaccine, built in record time. Prior to that, he was Chairman pharmaceuticals of J&J worldwide: under his leadership the company significantly rejuvenated its product pipeline and adopted a transformative research and development operating model, which led to the launch of 25 innovative medicines around the world. He joined J & J in 2002, with the acquisition of Virco and Tibotec, of which he was CEO and President respectively, and led the development of several innovative products for the treatment of HIV. Galapagos was founded in 1999 as a joint venture between Crucell and Tibotec and Paul was a member of the Galapagos board of directors from its founding until 2002.

Stoffels studied Medicine at the University of Diepenbeek and the University of Antwerp, Belgium, and Infectious Diseases and Tropical Medicine at the Institute of Tropical Medicine in Antwerp.